Procter & Gamble Health Limited on Wednesday announced a three-year collaboration with Tata Trusts for ‘Yes To Poshan’, a new programme that aims to advance the nutritional status of women and children in Krishna district, under its flagship corporate social responsibility initiative Sehat (meaning health).
The new initiative will focus on measures to effectively address malnutrition, a complex public health problem which has inter-generational repercussions.
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 conducted in 2019, 16 out of the 22 states surveyed reported an increase in children below five years of age being underweight and severely wasted (low weight-for-height). In Andhra Pradesh alone, of all women between 15 and 49 years of age, as high as 58.8% were anaemic and 14.8% had a low Body Mass Index (BMI), highlighting the need for pointed interventions in the region. The Poshan Abhiyan aims to reduce stunting, under-nutrition and low birth weight in children and anaemia amongst women and children.
The programme will be executed across five villages in Krishna district and interventions will include surveys, growth monitoring and a holistic behaviour change campaign to encourage the inclusion of various food groups in their diet and promote the cultivation of backyard fruits and vegetables. These activities will take place in the form of interpersonal or one-to-one interactions, small group and community conversations, and also encourage male participation.
The programme will also facilitate the capacity building of Anganwadi workers and Poshan Sakhis, so they can conduct home visits and community-level meetings in their village. The Poshan Sakhis will support frontline workers in identifying children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) to ensure timely referral to malnutrition treatment centres.
“We are delighted to partner with Tata Trusts for this grassroots-level behaviour change programme, which aims to complement the government’s efforts by promoting diet diversity and addressing the challenges of limited or age-inappropriate diet amongst Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) and children below two years,” said Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Health Limited, Milind Thatte.
Rajan Sankar, Senior Advisor, Nutrition, Tata Trusts said the problem of malnutrition required collaborative action from different sectors, stakeholders and like-minded organisations and a combination of determinants, such as access to fortified food, better public healthcare, clean water as well as authentic education.
